


There is Sunshine in Space

by koalaoshiz



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Original work - Freeform, mostly similar to canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-11-23 18:31:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11408112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalaoshiz/pseuds/koalaoshiz
Summary: When a single human is brought before one of the Lion of Voltron and have no way to escape his fate and go back home, he will have to make peace with it and hope to survive until everything is over.





	1. A rolling stone gathers no moss.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to TiSiS!  
> I am very happy and excited to share my work with all of you, especially since I know works with OCs are generally approached with a rather sceptic eye from the readers. If the summary in itself managed to at least makes you interested enough to read this note, thank you for giving my writing a chance!  
> For more informations about everyone in this, please go to [Paladins-in-Black](https://paladins-in-black.tumblr.com/)! I will be posting illustrations of my characters, random facts about them, asks and so on!

A hand lifted above his head, a smile on his lips, Terrence Parikh sighed as he watched the rocky path snake up and ahead of his position and just thinking of the track, all the walk he already did to get to where he actually was made him giddy. It had been a long trip since the last relay but he was happy to have made more than half the distance without wasting too much daylight. He just regretted not to have a hat, only wearing a fuzzy cap to protect the tip of his ears from the chilly wind. 

Taking off his phone from his pocket, he switched it on before lifting it in front of his face, the camera showing his dark face and his too big yellow coat before hitting the recording button.

“Hi mom, hi dad. Hello to you Nipa. This is day… uuh, twelve? I think? Of my hike. It’s been pretty good so far, it wasn’t even raining this morning so that count as a win?” He shrugged, “so I’m heading to the I don’t even know anymore relay where I’ll spend my night then a last one? Before I head down or beg someone to let me take a ride in a helicopter because my feet hurts.”

He laughed a bit before turning the camera toward the view around him.

“See Nipa? Told you it would be really pretty once I get higher. Don’t worry, your big brother is safe, big brother is following the path like a good boy and big brother eats everything in his meal, like you told me. Each color separately and the gooey stuff first. When you’ll receive this video, you will probably be heading for school so have a good day? Mom, Dad, I’ll be available for a phone call at the same time as yesterday so I’ll be waiting for you before doing my last day of hiking up. Then I’ll start hiking down. I’ll be back in two weeks or so.”

He sighed before returning the camera to his face.

“I miss all of you, you don’t even know how much. I know you encourage me for doing what I like with whatever it is and I’m really happy you let me have this opportunity. Everything around me is so breathtaking, and the air is purer than anything I’ve breathed yet. But enough chit-chat. I have to go if I really want to make it to the relay. I’ll message you all later.”

He kissed the air before him and touched the button to stop the recording, taking the time to send the video before putting back his phone into his pocket and continue his walk forward and up. His feet set the pace automatically and he began to whistle a happy tune even though it sounded quite terrible to his ears. He never pretended knowing how to whistle but it made him happy so he continued anyway. Plus it wasn’t like there were someone to judge him on the quality here. So far he only have met a dozen people, and only because they were hiking down unlike himself.

When he got tired of whistling, he pulled out his headphones and began to listen to his walking playlist but even that felt a bit dull after a few more hours. 

Arriving at the relay felt like heaven as he was feeling so tired, his feet were killing him more than ever and he felt the beginning of a headache coming full strength. The shades provided by the dorms were welcome and the warmth inside was calling him as well as the local food he still was getting accustomed to. The yak meat was something but nonetheless, it was good and filling.

After setting his bag and coat in the room he managed to pay for, he walked to the communal area where dinner was being served. He sat himself at the table and greeted the other hikers and began to make small talk with them. One of them was so boisterous and obnoxious it made Terrence grit his teeth around his chow mein while being roughhoused by a powerful arm. His ears were ringing but he still smiled and made no real comments on that comportment. 

“Oh, kid. “ One of the other tenant called to him “do you like local folk tales?”

“I can’t say I don’t, sir. Do you appear to know one?”

“I can’t say I do.” mused the older man and Terrence snorted at it. “Do you perhaps know why there is so many statues and depiction of lions in this area?”

This puzzled Terrence a bit, because sure he had seen them and got curious but always assumed it was something normal and religious, not something to be pinned on folk tales. He shook his head, mouth filled with chow mein and a few strand of hair moving along. He put his forks on the table to attach his long hair while the older man continue talking.

“It is said that long, long ago a God descended on Earth seeking something but never found it. He had searched for decades with no luck, growin’ more and more desperate and his sadness heavying the heart of the humans who prayed for his success, but none to avail. So one day the god stopped searchin’ altogether and decided that, if he couldn’t find what he desired, he would at least grant his followers crops to grow and grow so successfully they wouldn’t lack food ever again. Some other rumors says the mountains weren’t there when the God first arrived, that they grew around him as his sadness took over. People pray of him as a God of protection but a lonesome one and once a year, a young one choose to go in the mountains to talk to the God to alleviate his sadness even a little.”

The tone of this last sentence didn’t quite match the tone he had for the previous part of the story and it made Terrence a bit wary yet he felt a compulsion to ask as his curiosity took the better of him.

“What happens to them?”

“They never return, kid. They left their villages to lighten the God’s mood and the God tak’em in a better place to thank them. Each year, a young dweller is chosen an’ prepared for a ceremony, then brought to the opening of the mountain.” 

“Never to be seen again.” Finished Terrence. That made his stomach churn a bit and he pushed away his half finished plate. The man nodded and finished his drink, probably alcohol by the smell of it. “Soooo” Terrence trailed. “Do the ‘God’ eat them or whatever?”

The old man shrugged before answering.

“Who knows.”

“Why are people still following that tradition if they are just sending someone else to their death?”

“What if the year they do end up not sending someone, the crops start to wither an’ die? What if not sending someone means bringin’ starvation, diseases and death? Folks ‘round here don’t want to figure out what’s gonna happen, they prefer to continue doin’ what they are accustomed to.”

“I... “ Terrence hesitated. “ I guess that makes sense.” 

He munched on his meal, thinking it through. It was true breaking a habit, and a so long lasting one as this one would prove really hard and maybe unnecessary. Sure, someone died at the end but it wasn’t like he could go about like a messiah and preach them into not doing what they were doing anymore. Plus if it really was harmful in anyway to the society or anyone else, people would have already stopped it long ago. 

“Can normal people follow the same route as the- hm- sacrifice? But not in sacrifice period, I mean. Aren’t people curious of what happens to the ones they send there?”

Somehow his brain made him talk his mind out again and ask something he really didn’t want to know. He really wasn’t sure he wanted to follow the sacrificial path himself even if in some really deep parts of his mind, something was compelling him to go. Like some sort of calling.

“It’s not recommended, kid. It’s pretty dangerous, ya know. An’ it’s said to bring bad luck if someone go there when it’s not needed. Follow me? Don’t go all curious there, you’ll jus’ get yourself wounded for nothin’.”

Terrence shuddered at that.

“Don’t worry sir. I plan on keeping myself intact, unarmed and far away from any lion god or whatever this is.”

His appetite had been tempered by this conversation so he took his plate to the kitchen, thanking profusely the cook for it and got back to his room. He couldn’t help but over think the man’s words. Yearly sacrifices. That was really something that happened. It should probably shock him more than that but he couldn’t muster the strength to do it. After all, he had walked all day and the warmth of the place combined with a full stomach was enough to get him sleepy. 

After changing into his pajamas, he turned off the light and climbed into his bed, yawning all along. A restful night into a comfortable place was all he needed to continue his hike tomorrow. 

 

It wasn’t until he got the second leg of his pant on and hurriedly putting on his shoes that Terrence realised that he was awake and filled with a strange urgency. He nearly fell on his ass while putting the second shoe and that slight moment of respite had him think ‘what am I even doing?’ before his brain shut down again. He got out of his room, snatching his backpack along the way and he ran in the hallway toward the exit door, brain filled with ‘faster, faster’ comments he clearly didn’t need as he went as fast as he humanly could. 

The chilly air outside did nothing to appease that strange fever possessing him, even making it more pronounced as he ran past a strangely glowing lion statue. A voice behind him made his heart jump in his throat- it was the old man, the one who told him the tale- but it didn’t slow his pace. He just continued following the yellow glow before him, nearly tripping due to the low lighting. But he didn’t care.

It was as if he had been possessed by something more important than just him and he had to compel to the call. A cavern opening was before him, its rocky mouth inviting him inside and he went without thinking of how odd it was for him to think of it as anything but inviting. 

The strange yellow glow hadn’t left him either, creating a path and leading him further inside the mountain, showing him the way toward his destination, whatever that was. He just needed to go there and quickly. 

‘Faster, faster. No time.’ His mind supplied, contrasting with his ragged breath and the soft slap of his shoes on the floor. At one point, he had to stop moving to be able to breathe again and looking behind him, he saw nothing. Not even a light as if the yellow glow only allowed him to go further in and if he attempted to try and go back, he would only lose himself and die of starvation in the multitudes of tunnels he passed.

His feet began to walk by themselves, following that strange feeling in his brain and any tentative to just stop and rest more was met by nothing but deception. It was also disappointing for him to realise the strange yellow glow he was following this whole time was coming from lion shaped carvings on the walls, some more stranger than others but all of them seemingly representing the same lion over and over and one lone humanlike silhouette standing in front of the bigger carving, the lion mouth open as if to eat the small thing in one go. Not really reassuring.

Turning to memorise the strange carvings in his memory, he didn’t realise the path suddenly stopped at a big inside chamber and when the floor disappeared from under his feet, he yelped and rolled not quite smoothly until the slope was joining the floor again, abruptly putting a stop to his dangerous stunt.

Groaning and aching, Terrence slowly rose on his knees as his back began to painfully throb, as if to point out how stupid he was not to look where he was going. His voice was resonating strangely in this place and the yellow glow was more powerful. When he finally lifted his gaze from the floor, his breath caught in his throat and his mind got blank, all urgency suddenly silent and forgotten.

Because there was, behind what seemed to be a freaking forcefield shaped like a dome, a gigantic lion looking at him. Their eyes seemed to meet and a rumble inside his mind made tears fall of his eyes at how complete he felt right now. It was as if he had been finally reunited with his lone forgotten half and it felt so warm.

At this instant, he felt so safe he forgot even his name for a moment. Slowly, he rose on his feet and made his way toward the lion, slowly as if not to burst the fragile bubble of this event. 

“I’m here.” he managed to say to the giant mechanical lion, his voice reduced to a whisper as he put both of his hands on the glowing dome only to feel it disappear in an instant. His mind flashed with images of other lions flying into space and it made him giddy, light headed and when they were suddenly fusing into one gigantic being, it was as if nothing and everything made sense.

The yellow lion lowered its- her? In his mind yellow sounded feminine, warm and grounding- head and opened her maw, inviting Terrence inside like a mother shaking a cookie jar for her rowdy kids covered in dust and dirt after playing in the garden all day and he felt compelled to obey, climbing inside her head to what looked like a control room with a seat but seemingly no controls whatsoever. 

That didn’t deter the man as he sat carefully on the seat and he yelped as it darted forward toward the control-less panels when suddenly it flashed yellow- this color was everywhere yet it didn’t felt strange or too much, it was her color. And then sticks, buttons and screens appeared before his stunned eyes and the main screen before him flickered on and he could see the interior of the big room he was just in.

“Wow.”

Taking off his bag and setting it on the floor near the chair, he hesitantly put his hands on the control sticks and yelped when suddenly the lion began to move and a deafening roar was heard, making Terrence dizzy with the sudden burst of feelings that weren’t his his mind was filled with. 

Joy, proudness, exhilaration but there was also that underlying urgency that was starting to make him sick in his stomach. His hands shook on the controls and the lion began to move, making him yelp as she bursted off the mountain side, sending flying tons of rocks everywhere and Terrence prayed all the gods he knew off that nobody was going to be hurt because of it.

Despite the rocky start everything got smoother when he breached the stratosphere, the sky going black around him as stars began to fill the screen before him. He didn’t like that one bit and tried to move the controls, hoping to turn that giant, mechanical robot lion around.

“No no nononononono. Not going in space, let’s get back to Earth and on the ground please. Please! I haven’t even had breakfast! I can’t go in space, I have things to do on Earth. Come on!” 

He was more and more frantic and even standing up away from the controls lead to nothing but nearly getting thrown in a wall as the Lion was avoiding was seemed like an asteroid. Or was it a comet? Whatever. He didn’t care at all, all he wanted was to get off this ridiculous situation and ask his parents to forgive him for all the times he had been too stubborn for his own good. The joy he had felt while entering the Lion was now gone and all he could feel was his fear and that same urgency the Lion was sending to him. That wasn’t a really good combination.

Deciding trying to make the Lion go back to Earth wasn’t an option for the moment, Terrence sighed and buried his face in his hands, rubbing it as hard as he could and hoping for the whole situation he was in to make sense. Apparently he was in the Mountain God if his memory didn’t trash the informations the old man told him not too long ago and wasn’t that fantastic? Stealing a god. That clearly was a new low for him. Or maybe that was his most grandiose stunt ever who knows. Probably nobody. It wasn’t like he had planned this to happens or leave his whole planet behind without telling his family and friends.

While he was in his internal turmoil, a button on one of the panels had began to blink, calling his attention to it. He looked at it dumbstruck and hesitated.

“What am I supposed to do?” He said to the silence in the cockpit. He felt something in his brain as if the Yellow Lion was saying ‘well, I’m not going to press it for you’ and a shiver ran along his spine at it. It wasn’t as if it was uncomfortable, this presence in his mind installed in a corner like it belonged there, but it wasn’t something he was accustomed at.

Hesitantly he lifted a hand toward the button and pushed it fearfully, as if it was either going to bite him or shock him. He didn’t expect an unknown voice to fill the silence.

“At the intention of the being piloting the Yellow Lion, I am going to open a wormhole to our position. Go through as quickly as possible and prepare yourself. The moment you chose to appear to us is not an ideal one but we welcome your help with open arms.” 

The feminine voice rang, loud and clear with a ounce of accent he was unfamiliar with. 

“Wait, what? What’s going on! Who are you?” He asked, panic lacing his voice as he gripped tightly the controls again.

“No time for answers now. If we survive the fight, you will learn everything you need to know and it is a promise.”

Before him, a shimmering blue circle appeared, the edges seeming to bend the view of the stars behind it. It was as disturbing as looking through steam.

He guessed he had no real choices in the matter, too. He couldn’t go back on Earth, the Lion would not allow it and it wasn’t like he could do anything else but obey to the woman that spoke to him and go through that magical circle. The term ‘fight’ that had been brought into the conversation was making him anxious and cold sweat began to fall on the small of his back uncomfortably.

Breathing through his nose, he forcibly calmed himself similarly to how he dealt with rude customers back when he was a waiter in that restaurant and cleared his head of anything threatening to make him panic or fall on the floor crying like a baby until all he felt was taunt expectation and a need for everything to just make sense.

“Let’s boogie.” He cringed a bit at the sentence but it ultimately made him feel a little better and while that was not a lot, it was enough not to make him cower as the Lion flew head first into the magical blue circle.

The warning commanding him to prepare himself hadn’t been something to take lightly, he realised as on the other side of the wormhole, he was met by explosions all around him and a vision worthy of the best sci-fi film in all history.

A multitude of small spaceships were surrounding what looked like two other mechanical Lions and a gigantic white ship, lasers not powerful enough to cut through its enormous force field, the Lions dancing around it and shooting lasers themselves on the smaller ships. A second big ship, that looked more like a Earth battle cruiser, all purple colored and adorned with a big cannon on it was standing a bit further down his position and the mouth of said cannon was beginning to glow a sinister lilac.

Stomach churning at that sight, he pushed the controls down and hoped gaining enough momentum for what he was planning to do which was slamming side first into that menacing looking cannon, the impact making him grit his teeth. Finally realising the seat he was sitting in had safety belts, he quickly secured himself on it and avoided several lasers at the last moment, too caught up in obeying the primal instinct to wielding himself into the nearest object that wasn’t going to send him flying across the cockpit at the first impact.

The button that previously had blinked was doing his thing again and Terrence pushed it, mind too busy by making his lion shoot lasers of his own and saving his sorry ass to really pay attention to it.

“Hello Yellow Paladin.” another feminine voice ringed in the cockpit. The voice was pleasant in a sing-song way and seemed to cheerful for the situation they were currently in for his comfort. “I am so relieved you came to help. We were waiting for you, too so it brings joy to my hearts.”

“Hi?” He hesitantly responded, cursing the speed- or lack thereof- of the Lion he was in.

“Yes, you!” Chanted the voice. “More formal introduction will be made later but knows I am the Green Paladin, Tulna. Our more taciturn comrade in the Red Lion is T’Gulka-” A yelp cut the voice as he saw the Green Lion- her Lion then- got caught by lasers and made it roll a bit away.

“Are you alright?” He called out for her, the giant maw of his own Lion crushed two small ships, sparks flying everywhere.

“Why yes. Do not worry too much, please concentrate on the Galras.”

“Who?” 

Terrence never felt so confused in his life and the fact he was basically grasping at straws to make sense of the situation made it feel like a fever dream. Maybe that was it. Maybe he had slipped down the mountainside into a crevasse and hit his head too hard, dreaming he had been cat-napped by a giant robot Lion and was currently fighting in space.

A peculiarly hard hit sent his head back into the seat and he gulped down a sob as he bite on his tongue. It hurted too much for it to be a dream. He literally was in space, light years away from his family. He regained control of his breathing with a bit of difficulties and fought his mind to concentrate on the battle at hand. Fight now and panic later. He could do it.

“Watch your sides, lady!” He warned the Green Lion’s pilot as he spotted two bulkier ships approaching her position and as the Green Lion pivoted to laser beam them, the first female voice he heard since it all started spoke again.

“Paladins, fall back. We are going to wormhole somewhere else.”

A hum of agreement was sent from Tulna and both the Red and Green Lion began to flew back toward the white ship. Seeing nothing else to do and not suicidal enough to stay near the purple spaceships, Terrence followed them as quickly as he could and let out a shaky breath when the doors of what appeared to be a hangar closed behind the tail of Yellow. 

When she finally sat on the ship’s floor, Terrence opened his hands with difficulty, fingers stiffs from fear. His Lion was kind enough to still let her main screen active, giving him sight of the off putting space she was resting in. Everything was in white or light grey and bands of luminescent blue was the only touch of colors beside Yellow.

The door he assumed led to the interior of the spaceship suddenly opened, several figures passed them and Terrence had to hold back any form of violent reaction when he realized they weren’t human at all. 

The one he assumed being the Green Paladin, as her black armor had green on it, was tall. Not just tall but really tall with long limbs thin enough to seem extremely fragile. Her hair- what he assumed was her hair- was different shades of red and undulating softly and her only eye was looking expectantly at his Lion. His first real thought after the shock she gave him was ‘Is she able to wink or is she perpetually condemned to only blink.’ which wasn’t really useful in his situation.

Following her closely was a dwarf in comparison to her (and compared to the others accompanying them) and was probably T’gu-something. The Red Paladin's armor showed red accent and sticking out of it was the fuzziest, softest looking teddy bear head he had seen in a long, long time. His first thought about them was ‘Why does he looks so constipated? Is it his usual face?’ And while he had nothing against people being angry, this one seemed like one to be always grunting and grumbling at anything in sight.

Just after these two was two human looking persons, a woman with skin as dark as his and short silver hairs and a man with bright orange hairs and sporting a spectacular mustache. They looked like they meant business. Terrence would have prefered them not to have glowing marks on their face and elven like ears as it made him really uncomfortable watching them.

The fifth member of this troop was shorter than Tulna, definitely the tallest beside the orange haired man but his purple skin and cold looking face made a chill ran up Terrence’s back. That man or whatever he was looked like he could rip him in half and that wasn’t reassuring at all. 

The sixth member, as of him was the last straw of what he could accept in one day. Skin a mix of greys and orange and four eyes. While he too seemed relatively humanoid the strangeness of his whole appearance was just too much. 

Walking back from the screen, he didn’t miss Tulna waving at him excitedly and the breath caught up in his throat. He couldn’t breath, he couldn’t think properly, everything was so crazy it made him physically rears back and sobs. Diggind the palm of his hands on his eyes he focused on breathing correctly for what seemed to be ages. 

“Yellow Paladin, salutations!” The singing voice of Tulna resonated into the cockpit. “Come out so we can properly introduce ourselves.”

Terrence scrambled toward the panel with the communication button and, guided by his Lion pushed the right one, the one who will carry his voice by the external speakers to them.

“Thank you but I’m fine here. I’m gonna stay inside. For a moment. A long, long moment.”

“Paladin, it would be more advisable if you get out of your Lion. It is kind of rude not to talk face to face.”

Terrence cut the line and began to pace in the small habitat, pulling some strand of hair into his mouth to chew on it. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stay inside his Lion for long but he would last until they were gone to get out. A rumbling in his mind told him how much his Lion disliked it and he threw his arms in the air.

“I’m not getting out! Nobody can force me! I would have been perfectly fine without you kidnapping me and throwing me in that crazy situation!” 

The rumbling receded a bit with a somewhat apologetic wave and Terrence sighed again, sitting on the floor and retrieving his backpack. He didn’t want to watch by the screen to see if the other beings were still waiting for him. Aliens. Somehow, it wasn’t as surprising as he thought he would be to finally have proof there was life outside of the Solar System but this was something he would have been perfectly fine knowing without experiencing it. 

Another wave of impatience shook him and he tutted at his Lion, his brain still trying to make sense of everything. Yet the Yellow Lion had none of that and warned him one last time, to get him to get out of her cockpit.

“I said no. I’m good on your floor. You can’t make me get out!”

And maybe he shouldn’t have said that because without anymore warnings, a hole cut itself into Yellows floor and sent him tumbling out of her mouth, awakening the bruises he received earlier when he rolled on the cave’s slope. He came to a stop at the purple guy’s feet in a heap, his all black armor making him as serious as the Reaper. Terrence’s head was pounding, his back was hurting, his mind was as scrambled as eggs and now he was receiving what appeared to be stinky eyes from someone he just met. 

“Please make it swift and merciful.” he groaned as he made no effort to get up. “Actually no.” he added quickly when he realized the purple guy- his ears were so fuzzy it made him want to touch them- was going to talk. “Can’t that wait until tomorrow? I literally got the whole situation thrown at me without any explanation and I’m really close to passing out.” 

Purple guy looked at the others and seemed to be satisfied by the answers they gave him as he turned his gaze back to Terrence and said, with a low voice that was silvery and agreeable to hear.

“I will show you your quarters. Seeing how confused you are, it would be quite cruel to keep you on the spot and taunt without any rest.”

The man then gave him a hand to help him get up and Terrence was kind of off puted by the sensation of it, firm but slightly furry. But that would have to wait until tomorrow. He really needed that rest now that he was allowed to have it.

And maybe tomorrow will make more sense.


	2. Where there are stones the brook babbles.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Informations are shared, Armors are doned and even if the heart is still not quite there, the Yellow Paladin will not look back.

Tomorrow came more quickly than he expected but it didn’t make any more sense than the day before. At least, they had presented themselves properly as Terrence was significantly calmer and more apt to listen without panicking stupidly. 

Apart from Tulna and T’Gulka, the Green and Red Paladin he learned and ‘met’ there was Sebhan, the four eyed alien- I am an Hoan’u, he had corrected when the word alien had come out of Terrence’s mouth for the hundredth time- and the blue Paladin. As he had imagined, his two sets of eyes were confusing especially when he didn’t knew which one to look at without being rude. Especially when they apparently could move independently of the other pair, making it extremely weird to look at.

The other one, the purple man and Black Paladin was Revox, a half-Galra that was in fact much nicer than his closeted expression would lead on. He had been the one to present his comrades and had let pauses in his story to let Terrence digest everything at his own pace. While being two head taller than the human and purple- with darker marquage on his face, very fuzzy ears and being wholesomely intimidating, he didn’t striked Terrence as being one to use his status, his stature or strength to get what he wanted.

As for the two more humanoid like, not a lot had been said about them. They weren’t even in the dining room when the explanations had been made. All Terrence knew was that the woman had to be referred as Queen Allura and the man was his Royal Advisor, that he had to avoid talking about some planet called Altea if he could help it and while he could be friendly with them to never forget their status. T’Gulka had said the Queen was piloting the Castle at the moment and the Advisor was doing Gods know what. Coran- the Advisor was also renewed for talk with great length about diverse adventures of his youth. That would be something interesting to hear.

“Soooo-” he mused, drawing you the syllable. “I have been chosen as the Yellow Paladin of something called ‘Voltron’ to fight against someone who is basically space Hitler and his fashion fascists, bonded mentally to a giant robot that looks like a Lion and belongs to a race that only have two members left. Did I forgot something?”

“I think you resumed it.” Sebhan said, toying with a spoon and sitting in front of a bowl of something. “Although I don’t think to understand what a Hilt-er is or what a fascist is supposed to be.”

“Hitler. And he was kind of a huge douche? Basically started a war because he thought he would be some sort of good leader for his country with really bad ideas.” Terrence clarified. “Although it’s been like 200 years since it happened so I’m not sure if this is historically accurate or if it had been modified again.”

Behind him Tulna hadn’t ceased playing with his hair, her three fingered hand smoothing his more rebellious locks and just enjoying what she had said were ‘the softest fur beside T’Gulka’s.’ This was very relaxing and he couldn’t help but lean back a little bit on her, seeing as it wasn’t bothering her in the slightest. She may be tall and strange looking, she was very nice and he liked her voice a lot. Despite that, he was also curious about T’Gulka’s furr and wanted to know if it was really that soft. But the Kraglarta was scary looking, even focused on a strange looking tablet.

It seemed everyone here was focused on their own little thing around Revox and him, a soft presence that was very nice to have around despite its strangeness.

“So everyone have a robot lion designated and all that?”

“Yes we do.” Responded Revox. “Although we still need to retrieve the Blue Lion so we can use Voltron against the Galras.”

“Where is the Black Lion? I mean, you mentioned five Lions and as you make it seem, we are going to go find the last one we need. But I haven’t seen your Lion yesterday?”

“The Black Lion is in lockdown until all four limbs are retrieved and in one place: the Castle.” 

“Are you telling me you have been fighting with half your fire power the entire time?” He exclaimed, pretty much shocked at that news. That sounded really bad in the grand scheme of things. He wanted to shake his head at that but that would disturb Tulna and he didn’t wanted that, not yet.

“We still have the Castle’s defences but yes, you are correct.” 

Well, that was something at least. Not enough to make him feel better, but something. He sighed, sagging a bit down on his seat. 

“You’re crazy. You’re all crazy.” Terrence said with disbelief. “And now I’m part of it I guess.”

He heard Tulna hums behind him with acknowledgment and by the pulls on his hair, it seemed she had started to braid it. What Sebhan was eating something was goopy and green, Terrence wondering if he had to eat it too eventually and T’Gulka was still toying with his tablet, paying no attention to the other in the room, apparently too focused on whatever was displayed on the screen. They seemed to really be comfortable around each other and he really didn’t know how to feel about being suddenly included in whatever they had. 

That was a level of comfort and trust only a tight knitted family could emulate.

“Wait.” He interrupted his train of thought to report his attention back on Revox. “Do you, I mean, do we at least know where the Blue Lion is?”

Sebhan lift one set of eyes to look at him, the others still on the bowl of whatever and spoke. Yep, that was very strange to see, stop focusing on it Terrence.

“We do. We were initially travelling to its destination when Queen Allura picked your Lion’s signal. Then we got attacked and you know what happened after.”

Revox suddenly got up on his feet with a serious look on his face, looking intensely at Terrence, making him tense slightly. 

“Now that we are back at the matter at hand, I think it is time we gives you your armor and bayard. Follow me, please.”

Terrence got up on his feet too, thanking Tulna for braiding his hair and began to walk after Revox in the sterile looking hallways, trotting slightly to catch up on the taller man- was it ok to call him a man if he was an alien? Either way, he seemed to see Terrence’s struggles to keep up with him and slowed down slightly. Were all the hallways like that in this Castle and if yes how did everyone knew where to go without losing themselves.

“You are taking this pretty easily.” He said while looking at the human from the corner of his eyes. “Seeing how panicked you were yesterday, your reaction, or lack of is rather surprising.”

“Haha yeah well… I may or may not have stayed awake for two more hours just to wrap my head around what’s going on. But I’ve worked in retails so weird things happening was sort of regular on the job. One day, there was this dude that came up with his friend and he just started to pour the entire content of his bag on the counter and there was bits of electronics everywhere and the guy, the guy took out a receipt out of his back pocket and had the guts, the GUTS to ask for a refund because it didn’t worked well. Then proceeded to yell at me when I told him we couldn’t because, one we don’t refund electronics and two it had been CLEARLY smashed purposefully.” 

He stopped himself when he saw the confused look Revox was sporting and coughed, a little bit embarrassed. 

“Anyway yeah. This situation is extremely weird for me but you don’t need me having a panic attack all the time so I’ll just be a bit off for a moment then I’ll consider it my new normal. Of course, there will be things I will not understand or do wrong so please bare with me.”

He shot a smile to Revox who nodded, leading him further inside the Castle-ship. He wasn’t sure where they were going and most of the hallway looked like the others but Revox never seemed lost or unsure of his path. Yet he faltered for a moment, stopping to look at Terrence with a light frown on his face.

“I just need to ask you something.” he said with a low voice. “How are you feeling about me being part Galra yet part of Voltron?”

That made Terrence frown too because he didn’t really see where Revox wanted to go with this sentence. For the moment, he didn’t had any opinion on that subject yet, only having found out about everything just today. So Revox trying to have him say anything about the situation he was in was kinda off putting to say the least. Terrence’s hesitation prompted Revox to clarify his words.

“Our comrades all had different reactions, from distrust at the beginning to uneasiness being at my side although it stopped over time but you… You learned we are fighting the Galra empire, what Zarkon did these ten thousand years and didn’t bat an eye with me being part of this specie.”

“I’m stopping you right there, dude. Of course I’m not going to put you in a stereotype like an asshole. I know for a fact some part of the population of a bad society is against what their society is doing. Generalizing a population due to the most prominent mass cause more harms than anything. Plus, you are part of that Voltron, who is against Zarkon so you are not a bad guy. Meaning I have no rights to treat you like one.”

Revox continued looking at him for a short moment before nodding and pointing at a door just a bit further in the hallway which was apparently their stop. Terrence could only trust Revox as the door was near identical to all the others they had encountered previously.

The door slide open to reveal a medium sized room with capsules and a strange table. He approached the capsule that contained a black and yellow armor, similar to the ones Tulna and the other were wearing yesterday and concluded this one belonged to him and as it opened before him, he reached to touch it. The armor itself was slightly cold to the touch, the material it was made off smooth and solid looking. The black under armor was soft but his brain tried to put down the name of how it felt without quite concluding on what it should resemble. Nothing on Earth that he ever touched felt like this. And if he was true to himself, he liked it.

“Should I put it on right now?” He asked Revox without looking at him, transfixed by the armor and the slow, sinking realisation he was going to partake in a war from the moment the armor was fastened on his body. 

“It would be preferable.” Revox said with a hush in his voice, understanding Terrence’s hesitation and letting him time to weigh properly the situation. “Better get yourself accustomed to the weight and presence of the armor early on rather than in the middle of a battle.”

Terrence nods and began to zip down his jacket, placing it next to the capsule quickly followed by his shirt and his pant. The under armor was really weird on his skin like this but not unpleasant. It followed the shift of his muscles, snug on his body. The strangest moment was when it changed form to fit his size and stature. The black and yellow armor was strangely easy to put on, with latches smartly placed. It wasn’t even constricting him which at this point was predictable. 

At last, he took his- how strange to call it his yet it seemed fitting- helmet, holding it in front of him for a moment. The last piece of armor and he wouldn’t be able to go back. Strange feelings bubbled inside his ribcage and he hesitated between throwing up or faint. Or just excitedly parade in his new armor. Yet the utter feeling he was eventually going to die at the end far away in space reminded him of something, of words he read once.

“To be, or not to be: that is the question:  
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer  
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,  
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,  
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;  
No more; and by a sleep to say we end  
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks  
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation  
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;”

There was a moment of silence, not even perturbed by Revox who looked a bit confused but respected his new comrade’s strangeness nonetheless. When Terrence finally put his helmet on, thanking Tulna for braiding his hair, he didn’t felt changed. He was still Terrence, he was still terrified of what was awaited from him. But now he had a mission although not one he wanted to fulfill. 

He wished he could go back in time, from two weeks ago to rip apart his plane ticket so he couldn’t go in vacation, so he didn’t find the Yellow Lion. So he don’t end up dead for something too big for his small mind to comprehend, for a cause he wasn’t even supposed to know about. 

The slight exhilaration he felt just a moment ago as he put on his armor was fading away quickly replaced by dread and vertigo. His hands encased in the strange fabric of the gloves were tingling pleasantly, his whole body not feeling the weight of the armor it was supporting. 

The moment was broken as the door to the room opened with a swift sound and he saw the queen enter, regal looking while wearing what seemed like a simple spacesuit all black and dark blue, her short white hair poofing around her face.

“I see you finally put on your armor.” She said and something from her general behavior and mannerism made Terrence bow slightly before her. “Did you try your bayard?”

“Not yet, your majesty.” Revox said instead of Terrence, shaking himself into moving to the table, opening it by putting his hand on… something somewhere. Terrence approached it, curious and saw a strange device floating above it. Compulsively, he grabbed it using both his hands and it flashed, morphed before his eyes into twin guns, perfectly equilibrated and fitting his hands perfectly. 

A chill ran up his back as he looked at the weapons in his hands, perfectly aware of how they should be used and how to use them. He gulped as his legs threatened to transform into jelly. It was one thing to use pistols in paintball or other warlike games but now this was becoming his reality. His mother did take him to a shooting range when he was younger but it was only in case of self-defence. From now one, he was going full offence over the stupid immortal emperor of a really large army than wanted Voltron dead and the whole Galaxy under his reign.

The bad feeling twisting his guts was back again, a seemingly never ending loop of too full too empty that made him wants to throw his arms in the air and abandon everything this instant so he could curl into a ball somewhere else.

“That’s… I’m sorry, your highness but I think I need a bit more time to get a handle of the whole ‘you are now fighting and putting your life in the line’ schtick.” 

The queen looked at him, her face becoming slightly less hard and more compassionate. Despite how regal and composed she looked, Terrence couldn’t help but see how young she was, how strained her shoulders seemed to be under her uniform and how the stress forged her into an iron sculpture.

“Despite that, the armor is really great. Very sleek design. Have you ever thought of making it white, though?”

She looked at him, understanding that he needed the distraction for the moment, to push down any negative feeling that threatened to burst and consume him. She smiled lightly and responded.

“That would completely hinder the purpose of stealth but I indeed considered it once.”

“White armor is a strategical error, Terrence. Most Galra facilities are purple and dark. Having such a light color would make us beacons, preys instead of warriors.”

“Alright, point taken.” Terrence said, making his bayard retract with a soft gasp of wonder and looking back at Revox. “I just can’t help but think ‘fifty shades of black’ when I saw you in your armor yesterday.” 

“What is… it?” Revox asked, confused. 

“Nothing you should worry about.” Terrence precipitately replied, waving his hands around. “It’s just some human things that’s… Well, those weren’t good movies but the books at least tried to mend the worst of it… So… It’s positive. You look really intimidating.”

He probably should stop babbling or he would just embarrass himself too much for his liking. Revox didn’t seemed to mind though, his pleased expression told him he had appreciated the compliment even with how awkward it had been. 

“Now that you have your armor and bayard, I think it is time to get you acclimated to your Lion.” The Queen allura said. “We still have a Varga or so before we reach our destination destination.” 

And with that she exit the room, leaving Terrence more confused than before. He turned toward Revox with a questioning look on his face.

“What the heck is a Varga?” 

“It’s a measurement of time. A rotation of a planet around its sun is a quintant, the vargas are what compose a quintant. Then you have the doboshes- 76 for a varga- and the ticks.. We follow currently the UGT, or Universal Galra Time.”

Terrence nodded even though the explanation cleared nothing at all. If he made it so everything meet something to him, maybe it would eventually do and he wouldn’t have that need to go hide in a corner because everything was so weird. His head was so full of novelties who clashed against what was ingrained since childhood. If a short sized bear like alien could talk and apparently use technology, Terrence could get accustomed to all of this without going brain dead.

He mulled over the new informations while Revox accompanied him back to the hangar where his Lion was waiting for him. If he understood it well, a varga was an hour, more or less, a quintant a day. Doboshes were minutes and ticks seconds. Pretty simple but still confusing for his mind accustomed to earth termes. But if he learned German, Danish and Klingon he could totally learn real alien languages and not get freaked out by it. 

Revox left him once he stepped inside of the hangar, promising he would be here soon for when they would have to retrieve the Blue Lion. Terrence relished in the respite, breathing in and out to calm his now jittery nerves. It was nearly time to enter the battlefield willingly and that made him wants to throw up a little. 

There was a rumble in his mind as the Yellow Lion lowered her head to allow him inside and he patted a giant tooth in the way in. The cockpit was as he left him, his bag still in the corner of the small room. He had completely forgotten about it, busy as he was to adapt to this situation. He sat cross legged on the floor next to it and pulled it on his tights, opening the zippers. He plunged his hand inside to retrieve his phone and sighed in relief as it went on, the background image- his family and his best friend looking at him with huge smiles, happy he took the opportunity to go follow a stupid and childish dream. 

He put on his passcode and let out a shaky sigh as he saw he had received a video message during his last night on Earth. Steeling himself, he clicked on it. There was his mother in front of the old computer that was used as camera, as usual and she was smiling brightly to him, his father on the background seemingly cleaning the living room for the sake of the video.

“-n’t turn it on just yet, Solène. What would our son think about us if we show how messy we are without him?”

“Too late, Pitri.” His mother laughed, turning to see her husband struggle putting books in their already full shelves. “It’s already running. Say hi to your father, Terry.” 

She let a small pause for him to indeed sob a hello at their familiar figures. His mother seemed so sunny and happy, her hair cut short and now a weird teal, her tall and strong figure diminished somewhat by her sitting position. His father turned back to the camera, a fond look on his face as he dusted his hands on his too large pants for his slender figure; It was always strange for people to learn he got his large shoulders and tall stature from his mother. 

“We received your message a bit late, sorry about that. We were out dining with the Deronda and then the car nearly broke down-”

“It was just a flat tire, honey.” His father butted in, taking place beside his mother. His small glasses glinted in the light and it warmed Terrence to see them so normal. “It’s easy to fix.”

“Yes, yes. If only you could fix a tire as well as you paint, we would have been home earlier.”

“You didn’t even let me approach the tire! Are we even having that conversation while we record a message for our son?”

“You’re right. Sorry about this tadpole, you know how your father and I can get.”

Yes, he knew even if the use of the silly nickname was embarrassing all in itself.

“We’re so happy you are coming back soon, we miss you so much. I really hope you are bringing us souvenirs, thought. And recipes.”

“Stop hogging him, Solène.” His father chided her. “If you can, stay a day or two more to rest and enjoy the scenery more. Take lots of pictures, especially if you can catch dawn or dust. I would like to try and paint it.” 

Terrence hummed, leaning backward until his back is on the floor, the video message still playing on his phone but he stopped listening to it. It was hard, to think his parents were still believing he was at the refuge and not stranded somewhere in space, on the verge of participating in a war to protect other species against what basically counted as fascists. It was also extremely unlikely he could send a message back to Earth and his family to tell them he was safe, tell them everything was going to be ok. He would have to ask one of his new teammate for that later. 

He took his phone correctly so he could see the screen again and smiled faintly when he saw his little sister Nipa had joined their parents in the living room, playing with her handkerchief and not looking at the camera. She was making small throaty sounds as she rubbed a yellow part and the sound of an engine roaring at the white part. His heart twisted somehow a bit violently at that thought because she looked so concentrated on testing the different patches of colors and their different textures. He so wanted to bury his face into the thirteen years old’s hair and make her laugh. But he couldn’t.

“-that’s all for the news, I guess. Apart from your friend Tyoma said he might have found a good place to start your Florist shop. He is currently trying to get ahold of it until you can see it for yourself. But he brought Nipa there and she liked it, so consider yourself already seduced by it.” His mother said while flipping through notes and what seemed to be his mail. None of them seemed to be open so Terrence assumed there had been nothing of importance that he needed to be aware quickly.

His attention was drawn away from his phone once again by his console making the same beeping sound it always seemed to do when he was receiving a communication. He carefully closed the message and put his phone back into his backpack, stashing it in a neatly convenient storage box Yellow’s wall had and then sat on his chair, anxiety suddenly pulling at his innards again. 

He took a deep breath and pushed the button.

“Yes? Is it time already?”

“Hello Terrence.” Tulna’s voice was so melodic it helped him get his head out of thinking about his family. “Revox is heading your way at the moment so get ready to take off in a few doboshes.”

“Sure. Still need a bit of time to get fully accustomed to everything but it’s getting there. I will not back out of the mission. If I am supposed to be the Yellow Paladin, so be it.”

He looked at the hangar and at the Black Paladin marching toward him, stature high and impressive and thought about the three others and while he didn’t know them that much, he knew in his heart they would stop at nothing to bring down the Galra threat. And with them at his side, he felt safe.

“Let’s go blow some shit up.”

**Author's Note:**

> As you might have understood at this point, there will be no Canon characters apart from Allura, Coran, Zarkon, Haggar and Lotor. Not that I dislike them but this piece of writing is more of a personnal enjoyement rather than a wish to copy line for line what happens already in the cartoon. It is more me asking how a single human can thrive and understand life when taken from a familiar place with familiar people (Earth) to somewhere where your life is endangered all the time, surrounded by people who are a 100% not human at all, who think differently and sees you as a novelty as much as you see them as odd.  
> This is a contemplative piece made to sooth my need to explore human psychology as far as my knowledge allows me to.
> 
> Thank you also if you have read this first chapter until this point, thank you so much and I hope it made you interested for more, because more will definitely arrive: Do not hesitate to leave comments as I really like to know how people enjoy my writing and how I can further improve myself in writing!


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